Humans and other animals can suffer from conductive hearing loss, where there is damage to the ossicular chain (bones of the middle ear). Treatment options include medical or surgical treatment, or various types of hearing aids and prosthetics. Another form of hearing loss is sensorineural hearing loss, where there is damage to hair cells in the cochlea (inner ear). In this case, damage to the hair cells in the cochlea degrades the transduction of acoustic information to electrical impulses in the auditory nerve. Treatment options include hearing aids such as cochlear implants that are devices used to stimulate the auditory nerves.
Conventional cochlear implants typically include a microphone to pick up sound. The microphone is fixed external to the ear, which can raise social stigma and limit the usage of the microphone in the shower or during water sports.